which bank for a non-resident US account?

I've read a few old posts about this but no clear solution.
I'm a foreigner residing in South Korea and I have a website that sells mainly to the US via Paypal.
I've discovered that due to some specific Korean regulation about Paypal, as a foreigner I can't transfer money from Paypal to my Korean bank account. So I have to use the accounts of Korean friends, and the other problem is that due to another regulation, the dollars wired onto a Korean bank account are automatically converted into local currency, even if you have an account in dollars.
Ridiculous.
I'm therefore trying to see if I can open a non-resident bank account in the US.
Citibank tells me that I would have to keep a balance of 50K permanently on the account.
Does anyone know of a bank that doesn't require such a large amount to always be on the account?

Thanks for your advice but HSBC requires me to keep a permanent balance of 100K on the account. I would like to be a HSBC since they have a strong presence in Asia, but I don't want to have to keep such a high balance.

Thanks for your advice but HSBC requires me to keep a permanent balance of 100K on the account. I would like to be a HSBC since they have a strong presence in Asia, but I don't want to have to keep such a high balance.

Asiancasanova, do you reside in Asia permanently?
A

That's only for the premier accounts.

I'm based in Asia and had no problem connecting my Paypal to a HSBC account. There was an admin fee of around $100 US but that's it.

On terms of fees they want around $3000 in the account minimum however if you drop below that there is a small fee per month.

HSBC are a complete shambles in Asia compared to Europe ( I have a UK account and 2 Hong Kong accounts). But once it's set up its all straight forward.

I am in Philippines and transferring from paypal to my bank account doesn't have any hassle at all. The only problem is (same with you), dollar is automatically converted to peso and the exchange rate is ridiculous low....

Payoneer is the best, you can have a virtual US bank account and they only charge $20 per year for it, all the money you get via PayPal, you have the option of sending it to your virtual account, then withdraw the money via an ATM in your own country using a Payoneer Master card.

Payoneer is the best, you can have a virtual US bank account and they only charge $20 per year for it, all the money you get via PayPal, you have the option of sending it to your virtual account, then withdraw the money via an ATM in your own country using a Payoneer Master card.

The problem here is the ATM charges in my country which is too high.....

I'm french, living in Brazil, and I do business in the US.
To solve this issue, opened a Corporation in Delaware, requested an EIN, and contacted Wells Fargo in Wilmington (the city where my company was registered)
The minimum account balance is only $100 there, and they have online banking, 24/7 phone services (it's a robot, but works really well, even when you have a slight accent)

You won't be able to open a personal bank account tho.

If you are interested, contact me and i'll send you my contacts.

The whole process took about 30 days and cost around $1000.
If you want to hire an accountant (recommended, as there are a lot of tricky things to know when reporting your earnings and paying taxes), add an extra $1500/year in accounting fees.

Payoneer is the best, you can have a virtual US bank account and they only charge $20 per year for it, all the money you get via PayPal, you have the option of sending it to your virtual account, then withdraw the money via an ATM in your own country using a Payoneer Master card.

Thanks for the great feedback. Just wanted to update, we no longer charge 20 USD per year for the US Payment Service.

Originally Posted by Adie

I just singned-up with payoneer but it looks like it'll take 2 more months to receive my card...

Congratulations on signing up, we look forward to having you as a cardholder. Please note that the estimated date is the latest estimated arrival, usually the card arrives quicker than what is written in that email.

Hey Mate, I recommend incorporating a business in the US, I also highly recommend New Mexico, because you would not need to pay any annual fees or tax, like other states such as Delaware where one would still need to pay at least a annual minimum of $250.

make sure you have a reliable address as this is the most important part to the puzzle. I am not a fan of pre-paid cards. once you have an EIN, address and articles, you can find a bank to open an account with for a minimum deposit of $200. I have an account in the US without having to fly over there. Having a business checking account is a lot better asset than having a prepaid card, however I am not say it a bad thing tho.

Hey Mate, I recommend incorporating a business in the US, I also highly recommend New Mexico, because you would not need to pay any annual fees or tax, like other states such as Delaware where one would still need to pay at least a annual minimum of $250.

make sure you have a reliable address as this is the most important part to the puzzle. I am not a fan of pre-paid cards. once you have an EIN, address and articles, you can find a bank to open an account with for a minimum deposit of $200. I have an account in the US without having to fly over there. Having a business checking account is a lot better asset than having a prepaid card, however I am not say it a bad thing tho.

Hey Mate, I recommend incorporating a business in the US, I also highly recommend New Mexico, because you would not need to pay any annual fees or tax, like other states such as Delaware where one would still need to pay at least a annual minimum of $250.

make sure you have a reliable address as this is the most important part to the puzzle. I am not a fan of pre-paid cards. once you have an EIN, address and articles, you can find a bank to open an account with for a minimum deposit of $200. I have an account in the US without having to fly over there. Having a business checking account is a lot better asset than having a prepaid card, however I am not say it a bad thing tho.

Getting a bank account for non residents requires a visit to the USA. How do you get around this?

Setup a company in HK (tax free for all income generated from outside of HK)- With this you also get a HSBC Multi Currency account with debit card which you can withdraw from pretty much ATM's anywhere.

With the HK company you can setup a corporate HK Paypal account, withdraw to the HSBC bank account and so on...

Setup a company in HK (tax free for all income generated from outside of HK)- With this you also get a HSBC Multi Currency account with debit card which you can withdraw from pretty much ATM's anywhere.

With the HK company you can setup a corporate HK Paypal account, withdraw to the HSBC bank account and so on...

Do you have an incorporation service to recommend?
What about accounting? Do you know about the requirements over there?

I have read all the post and I must say that some of the posts are valid while some are not.

Yes its i possible to get this sorted out if you know how. Not everyone knows this, hence the different answers.

Payoneer may work, but to get the card, you need to meet some conditions. Not everyone will pass this. They will also only work with some companies.

Getting a biz bank account can set you back several hundreds of dollars. Forming a US biz comes with an additional yearly tax reporting and filing implications. You could need a Lawyer / Accountant which means additional yearly expense. Not everyone can afford this. The guy looking for this could be getting a few hundreds monthly in affiliate commissions.

There is a cheaper solution to this - a US PAYROLL card. But the problem here is that 98% of the providers will ask for a SSN. So the problem is locating the remaining 2% who will not.

If you are serious about running a business in the USA, I recommend that you get a real bank account, It is not difficult, I have been doing this for a while now. This myth about non USA people cant open a bank account in the USA without visiting the bank, Is total false.

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